My Used and Improved Central Machinery Harbor Freight Special 14” Bandsaw Review
I was looking at buying a larger bandsaw (19”+) for the shop and came across some blogs on the internet about the HF bandsaw and how well it worked for the money. Since I was not in the market for a small bandsaw I filed it away under useful info and moved on. Then I stumbled on a guy selling this bandsaw a 1/2 hour away on Craigslist. I offered him $115 for it and the deal was done.
Total Cost:...

This is my first review. I received the sale paper for Harbor Freight a week ago and like many of you I’m very leary of any of their power tools. My grandpa always tried to buy the best tools, and between my dad and his brother they are still using his Unisaw, drill press, joiner and bandsaw which ar all at least 40 years old. getting back to the point, I saw they were advertising a benchtop belt/ disc sander combo for $49.95 and decided to make the twenty minute road trip with my dad. ...

Knowing that the lathe itself is just the tip of the financial iceberg when it comes to wood turning, I needed to control costs wherever I could without sacrificing quality I searched, talked with the club representatives at the various woodworking shows etc… And the response came back about the Jet JWL 1236 and its CLONES… It would appear this lathe had been rebranded by several companies, including, but not limited to Grizzly, MasterCraft, and for those of us that are a bit on t...

I recently purchased a new Oscillating Spindle Sander for my small woodworking shop. Before making the purchase I checked out comparable models, The Harbor Freight Oscillating Spindle Sander & the Triton Oscillating Spindle Sander. For the type of use that I give a power tool this quality sander would work well. With the exception of the colors being reversed, the two machines are identicle. Both sanders have the same features & acessories. Naturally at $90 for the Harbor freight m...

I felt it necessary to write a review of THIS specific dust collector. Many home hobby woodworkers use Harbor Freight 2HP Dust Collector to refer to the current model #97869 and the older model #45378 interchangeably.
While they use a large number of the same components, and are most likely build on the same line, these are without a doubt NOT the same tool.
Building on the success of the #45378, Harbor Freight had some improvements to put under the hood, and market as the #97869, many ...

Review: Central Machinery 14” 4 Speed Band saw
This is a preliminary review of the saw that I got today from HF. Price: $360.00Speeds: 600, 1140, 1670, and 2670 Feet Per MinuteWeight: 179 lbs
This is a first for me, buying not only my first bandsaw, but also buying one without thorough reading of reviews. I toyed with this saw at the store, I had to straighten out the whole thing before I could see it work, the blade was in backwards, and the saw was completely out of adjustment. Funny,...

I picked up this narrow-belt, bench-top sander at Harbor Freight some time back for about thirty bucks, as I remember, and I think a version is also available from Grizzly as its model H3140 for about $55. The Grizzly specifications are a tad different, but it is clear from the Grizzly catalog photo that the two units are identical. Obviously, the Harbor Freight deal was a better one. The differences mentioned in the owner’s manual and the Grizzly catalog makes one wonder about published spec...

I know your probably thinking…”HF, if it’s anything like some of the other things they sell, it’s not worth it” But read on…I was very reluctant to buy this saw, and debated about it for several months. Then HF had a 25% discount coupon the day after Christmas, only to be used on New Years Day. I figured the math and this TS was going to cost $562.50, original price $750.00. So I bit the bullet and ordered it.The specs-3 HP motor, 230V, single phase; Max. s...

I posted up a couple of reviews of this grinder on youtube shortly after purchase:
I don’t find myself using this tool all that much, but when I need to use it the thing is very handy to have around. Depending on your definition of sharp this could be the only sharpener in your shop. I have taken chisels from the wheel to the strop and been back to work in a couple of minutes. Not as nice as a hand-honed edge, but if you are hacking mortises or rough work it is just fine. So ...

This 13” DP is a far cry from my most prestigious tool, and Harbor Freight’s “Central Machinery” brand doesn’t typically conjure up tons of confidence and the obligatory “Tim the tool man Taylor” grunts that the big names will, but this particular purchase has been too good to not give the credit that’s due. The 38142 is a 13”, 16 speed, 3/4 hp benchtop drill press. It weighs in at a respectable 125#, and stands over 40” tall. It ...